It's no secret that many a business deal has been closed on a golf course. But did you know CEOs who regularly play golf are paid 17% more on average than those who do not?
"Golf provides a unique opportunity to bond with individuals for a significant amount of time," says Accounting@Syracuse professor Bill Walsh. "If you have lunch with someone, that might be for an hour or so. In golf, you get to know the person much better since you're battling the course together. In an age of teleconferencing, golf may be one of the last venues where you can maintain that personal contact."
A whopping 90% of Fortune 500 CEOs play golf, and 80% of executives say playing golf enables them to establish new business relationships.
Although only 20% of all golfers are female, 50% of executive women who play golf say being able to talk about golf allows them to be more successful. And although the study is a bit dated, women with a handicap of under 10 in 1993 made an average of $146,900 annually.
Perhaps golf should be a required course in every MBA program.
If you're still not convinced, check out this infographic from Syracuse University's online MBA program demonstrating the role golf plays in corporate America and how business executives say it's making them better at their jobs.
